Blog // United VARs

"Harry" Hoang Tung, Business Consulting Director and co-founder of Citek, balances a demanding career with family life in Ho Chi Minh City, where he lives with his wife, daughter, and young son.

Away from work, Harry enjoys reading Nobel Prize-winning literature, playing football with his children, and revisiting the Harry Potter series that inspired his English name.

"Every evening, you'll find me reading to my three-year-old son, sharing the magical world that shaped my own imagination," Harry explains. "My daughter is nine and prefers to read it herself now, but sharing these stories, whether it's Harry Potter or Vietnamese folk tales, is how we strengthen our family bond. Literature teaches us about different worlds, and that's something I bring to business too: understanding different perspectives and cultures."

Filling an SAP Gap in Vietnam

Harry began working in ERP in 2008 with Oracle EBS before moving to SAP in 2010, just as it started gaining momentum in Vietnam. Over the years, he held nearly every role in implementation: consultant, team lead, project manager, and project director. By 2016, he and a group of like-minded colleagues spotted a market opportunity that would change their lives.

At that time, Vietnam's rapidly growing economy lacked local SAP partners who could meet international standards. Multinational firms expanding into the country struggled with communication barriers, high costs associated with flying in European consultants, and dangerous compliance gaps with local regulations. Harry and his colleagues left stable, well-paying roles to start Citek with just 24 people, determined to bring international-standard ERP with deep local expertise.

"We saw a gap in Vietnam," he recalls. "Companies wanted international-standard ERP, but they didn't want to fly in partners from Europe because of the language barrier and the high cost. They needed a local partner who understood Vietnamese business, culture, and regulations. That was the reason we started Citek."

Headquartered in Ho Chi Minh City with an office in Hanoi, Citek has grown into a trusted partner for more than 110 customers, including 30 foreign direct investment (FDI) companies such as Kärcher, Heineken, Adidas, Friwo, and SVP Worldwide. The company is the number one partner bringing SAP Cloud ERP to customers in Vietnam, with the highest number of projects in the country. This leadership has earned recognition from SAP as the "Best GROW (SAP Cloud ERP) Partner in Vietnam" and "Best Midmarket Partner of the Year 2024."

Expanding Global Reach Through United VARs

As the newest member of United VARs, Citek brings deep local expertise to the alliance, having joined in August 2025. Membership also opens doors for Citek's customers, who increasingly operate across borders.

"Some of our customers have factories in other countries," Harry says. "Before, if they wanted us to support them abroad, the cost was very high. By joining United VARs, we now have partners worldwide who can support them."

Membership also means customers benefit from faster localization and smoother compliance processes. "They can have a lead partner in their country and, through the alliance, access local experts. This allows continuity of service without us needing to maintain a huge team overseas," he adds.

For those planning to work in Vietnam, Harry points out one cultural detail that matters for project timelines. "The Tet holiday usually runs from the end of January to the first week of February, and most companies close for about two weeks. It's like the big year-end holidays in Europe."

Vietnamese SAP Compliance and Localization

Citek specializes in SAP rollouts and localizations in Vietnam and across Southeast Asia. The team has developed a comprehensive localization package tailored to Vietnamese Accounting Standards (VAS), enabling international companies to align their global SAP templates with local requirements while maintaining compliance with e-invoicing, tax reporting, and integration with local banks like Vietcombank and BIDV.

"Our strengths are in industries like chemicals, steel and metals, consumer products, and high tech," Harry explains. "When international firms expand to Vietnam, we ensure their systems are fully compliant and tailored to the local environment." This approach gives Citek a clear advantage over hiring European or Indian partners, who often struggle with language barriers, lack understanding of local regulations, and charge significantly higher fees while delivering weaker localization results.

This localization work often involves more than translation. Compliance with Vietnamese tax regulations, electronic invoicing requirements, and integration with local banks are all essential. "Banking here doesn't operate the same way as HSBC or Citibank," he notes. "We build connectors to ensure smooth integration with SAP systems."

Collaboration Opportunities for Members

Citek is actively seeking collaboration with other United VARs members. "We are open to working on core implementations by splitting by module, by country, or by plant," Harry explains. The team also provides outsourcing, offering technical or functional resources on either a full-time or task-based basis.

As well as delivering projects locally, Citek has supported more than 30 clients from Germany, the US, the UK, Spain, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Japan, and beyond. One standout example was a collaboration with United VARs member All for One in Germany.

"All for One managed Friwo's implementation in Germany, while Citek handled the rollout at their main factory in Vietnam," Harry explains. "We worked in parallel, ensuring consistency across sites."

Citek is well-positioned to manage projects in Vietnam and across Southeast Asia, as well as provide application management services for partners in the region. "We also support subcontracting for things like data migration, forms, or medium-sized modules," Harry says. "Those are more short-term, but in the long term, we're interested in joint ventures or even setting up representative offices in new markets with partners."

Investing in Cloud and AI for the Future

The next three years will see Citek invest heavily in SAP cloud services, including SAP S/4HANA Cloud, SAP BTP, and cloud analytics. "Our strategy is to target new SAP cloud customers, upsell to our installed base, and support international clients, especially FDI projects," Harry says. "We want to deliver faster and more sustainable value using a fit-to-standard, clean-core, and agile approach."

AI is another focus area. While Vietnamese customers are still cautious, Citek is preparing to lead adoption. "We've built an internal AI system to store and share business knowledge," he explains. "New consultants can ask it questions, like the pros and cons of SAP S/4HANA in the steel industry, and learn quickly."

Externally, the team is piloting SAP Business AI. "Some customers need many reports for foreign bosses," Harry says. "It can take days to prepare. With Business AI, we can show them how to get the data instantly, helping them make faster decisions. Our first case study will be in Q4, and we plan to replicate it widely."

With strong industry expertise, proven localization skills, and a clear vision for cloud and AI, Citek is entering the United VARs alliance ready to collaborate and contribute. For members seeking a trusted partner in Vietnam and Southeast Asia, the company offers both deep local knowledge and a growing global outlook.

"At Citek, we bring global standards with a local heart: ensuring that businesses in Vietnam and Southeast Asia can grow sustainably in the era of cloud, data, and AI," Harry concludes.